noun
bur
BUR/bɜːr/
A prickly seed case or flower head that clings to things.
A prickly bur catches on the wool with its tiny hooks.
Etymology
Middle English burre named a prickly seed case. Its Scandinavian ancestry connects it with words for bristles, highlighting the plant part's stiff, projecting points.
In context
for the seed case of the cuckle bur it's a way of deploying hundreds of clinging barbs
More examples
- She picked several burs from her socks.
- Tiny hooks help the bur catch on passing animals.
- The dry bur carried seeds away from the parent plant.
Forms
bur · burs
Similar words
- seedpod
- A general seed container, without the clinging prickles.